There's no better television than 'Breaking Bad'

By Michael O'Rourke, Express-News columnist

Updated 2:13 pm, Monday, January 16, 2012

My sister just started. One of my best buddies is almost done. I have been there from the beginning and am vicariously enjoying other people discovering what we all consider to be the best show on television.

There is no doubt we watch television programming in a far different way than we used to. It is almost hard to believe there was a time when we had to actually be sitting in front of the television at a specific time in order to view a specific show. I can remember sitting in the back seat of the car begging my mother to drive faster or else we would miss Happy Days.

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The first game changer was the VCR. Being able to record a show and then watch it whenever you wanted was as mind-altering and unbelievable as the man walking on the moon for the first time. It is funny how the VCR has practically gone the way of the eight-track. Among Internet streaming, HBO GO and Netflix Watch Instantly, you can pretty much watch any show, any time and anywhere. I swear I use my phone to watch TV more than I use it to actually converse.

Nowadays, the only television shows you actually miss are live sporting events. Other than that, you can watch almost anything, anywhere and anytime. Such is the case with AMC's Breaking Bad.

My sister is watching the DVD set. My buddy is watching the first three seasons on Netflix. Another friend knows some Internet site where she can watch any TV show she wants. She doesn't even own a television set. She watches everything on her computer.

Few shows give the viewer a sense of ownership like Breaking Bad does. The story of a terminally ill high school chemistry teacher who breaks bad by manufacturing and selling crystal meth to support his family is arguably the best television show ever. People like myself who have been viewing it since episode one take a sense of pride in getting other people to watch.

My sister and her husband are somewhere in the middle of season one. It is one of those shows you have to wait for the kids to be asleep to watch. My buddy is in the middle of season four, and he sends cryptic text messages to let me know which episode he just watched. A text reading, "No more half measures, Walter," let me know he had just watched one of my absolute favorites.

While we all wait for the fifth season of Breaking Bad, there is a huge level of satisfaction knowing we are getting other people to jump on the Breaking Bad train. For those of us who have watched every episode when they originally aired, we find solace in podcasts, interviews and of course, watching them again. I know there are new shows that keep coming out, but seriously, I would oftentimes rather watch Breaking Bad again.

No matter where my sister and friends are in the series, I always respond with the same sentence: "Believe it or not, it gets even better." And it does.

Michael O'Rourke eagerly awaits season five on Thursdays and Saturdays in S.A. Life. Email: Ourhackmoliere@yahoo .com.